Capital Letters

Directions that are names (North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the country, but not as compass directions)
The Galizio family has not moved to the Southwest. Jasmine's house in Tigard,
two miles north of the river, suits their family just fine.

Family relationships (when used as proper names)
I sent my niece a gift. She enjoys hearing from Uncle Tim. I try to call Mother a couple times every week. I hope you stay in touch with your mother.

Members of national, political, racial, social, civic, and athletic groups
St. Louis Cardinals, American Friends Service Committee, African-Americans, Anti-Semitic, Republicans, Democrats, Friends of the Wilderness, Japanese, American Indians, Dine, American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations, etc...

Periods and events (but not century numbers)

Victorian Era, Renaissance, Great Depression, Holocaust, the Enlightenment,

Constitutional Convention, sixteenth century

Proper nouns
(the names of specific people, places, organizations, and sometimes things)Portland Community College Faculty Federation / Golden Gate Bridge / Supreme Court / St. Louis, Missouri / Pacific Ocean / Amnesty International

The first words of a sentence
Capital letters, in many situations, are not optional.

The pronoun "I"
I try to use capital letters correctly; this shows that I care about grammar.

The names of God, specific deities, religious figures, and holy books

God, Virgin Mary, Allah, Elohay, Elohim, the Bible, the Qur'an, the Greek gods

Moses, Shiva, Buddha, Yaweh, Zeus, the Messiah, Brahman, Ahura Mazda,
Amaterasu, the Torah, etc...

Exception: Do not capitalize the non-specific use of the word "god."
Evidently God was angry because people worshipped idols and continued to
pay homage to an assortment of false gods and pagan rituals.

The days of the week, the months of the year, and holidays (but not the seasons used generally)

Thanksgiving, October, Friday, winter, spring, fall, summer

Exception: Seasons are capitalized when used in a title.

The Summer of 1942

The names of countries, nationalities, and specific languages

Iraq, Persian, Farsi, French, Spanish, English

The first word in a sentence that is a direct quote

Earl Warren once said, "The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual.

The major words in the titles of books, articles, and songs (but not short prepositions or the articles "the," "a," or "an," if they are not the first word of the title) Capital Letters in Titles

When John Kennedy was a boy, one of his favorite books was
A Child's Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson

Titles preceding names, but not title that follow names
He worked as the assistant to former Mayor Vera Katz. Her assistant was not able to arrange an interview with Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City.

Trademarks

Chicken of the Sea, General Electric, Kelly Springfield, Ralston Purina,
Shell Oil, Tootsie Roll, Taco Bell, etc...

Words and abbreviations of specific names (but not names of things that came from specific things but are now general types)

Freudian, NBC, pasteurize, UN, french fries, italics

Legal Info: Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an endeavor to educate and inform. We are a public benefit nonprofit corporation and our efforts to provide information and advance understanding and civic awareness constitute fair use. Our legal counsel has determined that the various environmental, political, human rights, economic, scientific, social justice, art, writing, and creative arts issues we explore constitute 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is made available for the public benefit, without profit being derived from this presentation. We hope our visitors enjoy and appreciate the included information for research and educational purposes.
For more information go to: © opyright Law: A Primer for Cyberspace
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own
that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

More Links for Capitals→ How to use them properly Includes definition, rules, practice quiz, etc... Capital Letters in Titles
More capitalization links See these pages in Adventures in Writing (bottom of page) 286-293 Capital Letter - Quiz Capital Letters Capitalization Quiz Capitals, Italics, Punctuation English: Capital Letters When and where to use caps
About	The proper use of capital letters in English grammar. You must use capitals for:							Underneath
Above	Directions that are names (North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the country, but not as compass directions) The Galizio family has not moved to the Southwest. Jasmine's house in Tigard, two miles north of the river, suits their family just fine. Family relationships (when used as proper names) I sent my niece a gift. She enjoys hearing from Uncle Tim. I try to call Mother a couple times every week. I hope you stay in touch with your mother. Members of national, political, racial, social, civic, and athletic groups St. Louis Cardinals, American Friends Service Committee, African-Americans, Anti-Semitic, Republicans, Democrats, Friends of the Wilderness, Japanese, American Indians, Dine, American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations, etc... Periods and events (but not century numbers) Victorian Era, Renaissance, Great Depression, Holocaust, the Enlightenment, Constitutional Convention, sixteenth century Proper nouns (the names of specific people, places, organizations, and sometimes things)Portland Community College Faculty Federation / Golden Gate Bridge / Supreme Court / St. Louis, Missouri / Pacific Ocean / Amnesty International The first words of a sentence Capital letters, in many situations, are not optional. The pronoun "I" I try to use capital letters correctly; this shows that I care about grammar. The names of God, specific deities, religious figures, and holy books God, Virgin Mary, Allah, Elohay, Elohim, the Bible, the Qur'an, the Greek gods Moses, Shiva, Buddha, Yaweh, Zeus, the Messiah, Brahman, Ahura Mazda, Amaterasu, the Torah, etc... Exception: Do not capitalize the non-specific use of the word "god." Evidently God was angry because people worshipped idols and continued to pay homage to an assortment of false gods and pagan rituals. The days of the week, the months of the year, and holidays (but not the seasons used generally) Thanksgiving, October, Friday, winter, spring, fall, summer Exception: Seasons are capitalized when used in a title. The Summer of 1942 The names of countries, nationalities, and specific languages Iraq, Persian, Farsi, French, Spanish, English The first word in a sentence that is a direct quote Earl Warren once said, "The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual. The major words in the titles of books, articles, and songs (but not short prepositions or the articles "the," "a," or "an," if they are not the first word of the title) Capital Letters in Titles When John Kennedy was a boy, one of his favorite books was A Child's Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson Titles preceding names, but not title that follow names He worked as the assistant to former Mayor Vera Katz. Her assistant was not able to arrange an interview with Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City. Trademarks Chicken of the Sea, General Electric, Kelly Springfield, Ralston Purina, Shell Oil, Tootsie Roll, Taco Bell, etc... Words and abbreviations of specific names (but not names of things that came from specific things but are now general types) Freudian, NBC, pasteurize, UN, french fries, italics Legal Info: Fair Use Notice This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an endeavor to educate and inform. We are a public benefit nonprofit corporation and our efforts to provide information and advance understanding and civic awareness constitute fair use. Our legal counsel has determined that the various environmental, political, human rights, economic, scientific, social justice, art, writing, and creative arts issues we explore constitute 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is made available for the public benefit, without profit being derived from this presentation. We hope our visitors enjoy and appreciate the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: © opyright Law: A Primer for Cyberspace If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.							Unlike
Across								Until
After								Unto
Against								Up
Along								Upon
Among								With
Around		Between	During	Like	Out	Since	Under	Without

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